[KPBadger]

Hi again woodenink,

I think the contrast issue will help give some control over your image engraving, but as some of the other users have already said , it is highly recommended to add text seperately, as a true, scalable, vector text object.

One of the reasons for this being that when you add text into a photoshop bitmap image , you are adding more steps of 'translation' between design and output and thus loss of quality. Photoshop converts the vector typeface into a bitmap format, and in doing so it softens / approximates the edges to some extent - known as "anti-aliasing" ( zoom in closely to photoshop text and you will see what i mean. The laser then attempts to replicate these soft edges resulting in poor output. This is particularly evident with small text less than say 5mm height.

if you add text in your laser software however, it will be a vector. IE constructed from a series lines and curves rather than pixels. this is scalable and does not lose quality in editing. Hence there is only one step of translation between design and output. (in Lasercut software, you are able to set the laser to either 'cut' the text by following its outline, or engrave-fill it. im not sure if photgrav gives these options )

not too scientific, but i hope this of some assistance.

KPB

[KPBadger]

I should add that an simple advantage of having image and text as seperate objects is that you can specify different laser settings appropriate to each item, rather than one-setting-kinda-suits-all .

cheers

[woodenink]

KPB thanks for that info, will try tomorrow evening. My concern is that some customers have a company logo that they want put on a keyring or small object, often that logo has words on it, and they need to be "translated" or converted so that laser job looks good. It is far easier to get a photo of the logo and convert it to greyscale then bitmap and resized, but will it come out correctly??? Amos

[KPBadger]

Hi - how are you getting on?

Some logos lend themselves to vector graphics , for example a logo composed of solid shapes and solid text.
if the logo contains, say graduated fills, images, then clearly it will be better to send to the laser as a bitmap.
you may still have to use a combination , as discussed earlier to get the best results from the laser machine.

i would be a little concerned about using a photograph of a logo to output to the laser machine - ( if i understand you correctly ). Since again you would be adding steps, losing quality with each step. And this would explain your problems with background contrast.
With a photograph i would generally use it ( or a scanned letterhead ) as an underlay to produce a 'clean' graphic on an empty background ,
- in autocad etc. if i wish to have a vector graphic,
- or in photoshop if a bitmap is deemed to be more suitable.

Many companies can supply you with a 'graphic file' of some sort or other , ready to go. if you ask their marketing people. which can save you a lot of time. obviously smaller companies might be able to do this, unless one of the guys is half computer literate.


Anyway. hope you are making some success.

regards
KPB

[woodenink]

OK, thank you to all who chipped in and gave me helpful advice, and especially Shadow 042, who came several times to guide me in the use of the machine.
If you were to ask me, "What is the Machine like?" my report would go something like this.
"I couple the machine with the company that sold it."
A. the machine is very well built, robust and has worked well for me.
B. the down side--for such a beautiful machine it only has 1 (one) bit Bitmap software which is a BIG drawback for me, it would be good if it were 8 bit or 24 bit.
C. Support was courteous BUT atrocious, pull your hair out waiting for any, only to be given general answers, I was deceived by the ad that said "we have technicians" , I thought I could pick up my phone , ask the technician a question, be set on the right track and away I would go!!
Imagine the suprise when the machine would not work first up, an answering machine that requested I email my question.
Accidentally I left the alarm lead from the chiller OFF and the machine came on and the laser worked!? Being an electronic technician for 40 years, I metered the cable , it was wrongly wired-I rewired it correctly and then the machine worked!!
But my calls for help initially were all to an answering machine or email,!! where were the technicians that I mistakenly assumed were on call??
D. I am a stickler for back up, and to me, to be held to RANSOM while a Dongle is replaced is very bad business, it could hold up work for days! I believe every machine should come with 1 spare dongle that you keep in the Safe, if the other one is damaged and lost, you can then use the spare and order a new dongle, all this garbage about software piracy-ok it may occur, but will the manufacturer pay the thousands of dollars of lost production while you wait for a Dongle?? then give one spare dongle- it won't cost them much at all, sure register the number if they want to, BUT GIVE ME A SPARE DONGLE, this is our livelihood, If someone wants to Pirate then they WILL do it anyway, not because of the spare dongle. Why should my whole income be prejudiced because of their perceived piracy, .Listen that software can only be used with that type of machine! so it would have to be another manufacturer that Pirates.
Having said all that, the company that I purchased it from were kind enough to send me a SPARE!! it took a LONG time, but they did it, to their credit that is a plus.
E. If I had to do it over---I would ask what is the machine quality like? (in this case excellent)
What software does it use, is it 1 bit? 8 bit? 24 bit?
It MUST come with a spare Dongle.
Are your Technicians REAL people living in REAL time and able to answer the phone during working hours? or is it email only?(so you can send my email to China and get an answer)
What is your after sales service like? Does it exist? No, not 24 hr email! but REAL people who can give REAL help so that my business can get income to provide wages for REAL workers who have REAL families to look after.
F. Are the spares readily available-they say they are, but are they really??? If I go by past service I have serious doubts??!!! I will probably think of other questions to ask, but this will have to do for now, I must get back to work. Amos